Biohazard and Crime Scene Remediation in Piedmont, CA

Piedmont is a 1.7-square-mile city in Alameda County that is completely surrounded by the city of Oakland, and its name comes from the Piedmont region of Italy, meaning 'foothill.'

Piedmont was incorporated on January 31, 1907, after two narrow elections in which residents chose to form their own city rather than be annexed by Oakland; it became a charter city in 1922.

Piedmont's population increased fourfold after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, as displaced San Franciscans fled to the East Bay hills, which were believed to be safer from earthquakes.

In 1915 Piedmont was said to have the highest per capita wealth of any community in the United States, and by the Roaring Twenties it was known as the 'City of Millionaires' for having the most resident millionaires per square mile of any American city.

The land that became Piedmont was part of Rancho San Antonio, granted to the Peralta family in 1820, and its first settler, Walter Blair, arrived in 1852.

Hugh Craig, who led the fight for incorporation, served as Piedmont's mayor for its first 14 years; Piedmont City Hall, designed by Albert Farr, was built in 1910.

Piedmont High School is famous for the Leonard J. Waxdeck Bird Calling Contest, started by biology teacher Leonard Waxdeck in 1963, whose winners appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson for 17 years and later on David Letterman's show.

The 2020 census counted 11,270 people in Piedmont, and Census QuickFacts counts about 3,864 households averaging 2.83 people each.

About 91% of Piedmont's homes are owner-occupied, and Census QuickFacts puts the median value of its owner-occupied homes at more than $2,000,000, the top of the scale.

Piedmont is almost entirely residential, with virtually no commercial district, and residents rely on neighboring Oakland for most shopping and services.